Archive for March, 2007

Now that my predictions have gone wider then the wide bowled by Harmison to kick-start the Ashes-’06, I’ll desist from making any more predictions. It seems that my career as an astrologer is predictably doomed.

After India’s exit, I told everybody, “Mera cricket par se vishwas uth gaya hain…” in true filmy style! I was sulking so badly that I changed the channel as soon as any cricketer’s ad came on and I even gave the Aus-SA match a miss (friends later told me, much to my dismay, that I missed one of the better matches of the WC).

Now that I am back to watching cricket again, and since India is out, I am not doing fanatical mathematical calculations in my head, I am not concentrating on the what-if scenarios, not thinking what would happen if SL loses or SA wins or NZ ties! After ages I am enjoying cricket, I am not afraid that Tendulkar or Dravid or Ganguly would get out. I am not fervently praying before every ball that Agarkar or Zaheer or Munaf pick up a wicket!

I am rooting for cricket now, not any specific team! I just want to watch good cricket, which I am getting in plenty… Oram’s spell against WI was superlative, Lara’s knock against Australia showed why he is the best, Sarwan’s throw to run out Ponting, Lara’s right hand pick up and throw to run out Fleming, McCullum’s catch, Malinga’s 4 wickets in 4 balls, Vaas bowling AB de Villiers with arguably the best ball of the tournament!

Now that I have made my point on being unbiased, will someone go and please defeat Australia! They are ruining the WC ala Federer… We need a GuillermoCanas.

There is no doubt that the book Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami is written brilliantly. The book has an amazing grip on the reader, but I am not sure whether I loved the book or not. The book is surreal, when I was reading the book I was so engrossed in it that I did not mind the magical things happening – cats talking, fish falling from sky, souls leaving the body & coming back – I even felt unreal after keeping down the book.

The book is about two people – Kafka Tamura & Satoru Nakata. Their stories run parallel to each other, initially both stories are independent but finally they intertwine. Both of them have left the comforts of their home. Kafka runs away from home on his 15th birthday to escape his father’s curse, and Nakata – nearer to end of his life rather then the beginning & has the ability to talk to cats – has a strange calling, he moves from one place to another only knowing what to do when he reaches the next place.

The book plays more on the subconscious then the conscious. There are many questions left unanswered in the book, it is a book that is difficult to understand and the more you try to understand it the more questions crop up. As per Murakami the secret to understanding the novel lies in reading it multiple times. Throughout the book there are multiple references to various literary works, and musical compositions. If I were to put my finger on the theme of this book, I would fail abysmally. There is suspense, there is magic, there is fantasy, there is violence, even humour finds place, and there are constant sexual fantasies.

This is the book that makes you feel that dreams may be real. Maybe our real life actions are determined by our dreams. This book takes you to a plane that is apart from this world, everything seems hazy, and the worldly things are left far behind. This book attempts playing with your head, and triumphs emphatically.

On my recent trip to Sunderbans I clicked numerous photographs of birds. Although some of them came out well, but I was mostly dissatisfied with the end results. But having compromised on zoom & lens in favour of size, I cannot complain. And I had no idea I would be bit by the photography bug.

But even with a powerful zoom, bird photography is not easy. First of all you have to spot the bird, and given its size and excellent camouflage it is a mean task. Once you have spotted the bird, any sudden movements have to be avoided and forget about getting close (and by close I mean 30+ feet). And then taking the photograph of that tiny bird that would disappear in a second if you make any unwanted sound or movements. (It has happened with me, I just stooped to get a better angle and the bird flew off)

I am still trying to capture one good high-resolution photograph of any bird, and till now I have not tasted success. With my simple point-and-shoot camera, I doubt I would be able to get such a photograph, but I can always dream!